Last week I wrote about the difference between long and lengthy and how the latter has a negative connotation, implying something is going on longer than it needs to. A long speech may be hard to listen to, but a lengthy one may verge on torture. Most people use lengthy because they think it sounds more professional. It isn’t.

The same can be said about simplistic. It is not a fancy-schmancy way to saysimple. It means something that is overly simple, and therefore inadequate. Roger’s simplistic explanation left the audience with more questions than answers.

Don’t write to impress. Write to be clear and understood. Isn’t that what you want from others’ communications?